KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — National speed king Muhammad Haiqal Hanafi can breathe a sigh of relief after his name was included at the last minute by the Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) for the Hanoi SEA Games in Vietnam from May 12-23.
MAF president Datuk SM Muthu, however, said Muhammad Haiqal, who will go under Category B (to be reimbursed if he wins a medal), will not be defending the 100-metre (m) gold medal he won at the 2019 edition in the Philippines as the Negri Sembilan sprinter will only be competing in the men’s 4x100m.
“Muhammad Haiqal will join Muhammad Arsyad Md Saat, Russel Alexander Nasir Taib and Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi in the 4x100m in Hanoi. Muhammad Arsyad and Russel Alexander will race in the men’s 100m sprint there,” he said when contacted today.
Muhammad Haiqal had initially failed to qualify on merit for the SEA Games despite winning the blue riband event at the 97th Malaysian Open Athletics Championships on Saturday (March 5).
The 22-year-old clocked 10.58 seconds (s), just 0.06s slower than the time required — 10.52s — to qualify on merit under Category A (fully funded by the National Sports Council) for the biennial Games.
Meanwhile, Muthu said that national 110m hurdler Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian is the other athlete who will be going to Vietnam under Category B despite failing to beat the qualifying mark of 13.99s, when he could only clock 14.19s at the Malaysian Open.
With 14 men and four women having qualified under Category A as well as nine men and nine women under Category B, the MAF will submit a list of 36 athletes to the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) tomorrow, he said. — Bernama
